Opportunity Cost
by silencedugood
Summary: Awkward. Frustrating. Heartbreaking. There was no way Caroline Hemingway could have anticipated any of this, but if she was going to tell her story, she need to start at the beginning. Cincinnati, Ohio. Jon. A cocktail of bittersweet memories. Told in three parts, follow the story of Caroline Hemingway as she goes from ambitious student to Head of Talent Relations for the WWE.
1. An Unlikely Partnership

**Amelia High School  
Cincinnati, OH.**

There were 93 days left until graduation, and Cara Hemingway found herself outside of the counselor's office _again_. It wasn't that she was a troublemaker or a "problem-student", she was quite the opposite. However, she was certain that the Mrs. English was secretly tired of seeing her despite all of the support she had given her over the past four years.

You see, if you want to get into the school of your dreams, you have to appear to be damn near perfect, and for the past four years Cara had stayed out of trouble, kept her grades high, and still managed to maintain a relatively strong social life as well as a good attendance record when it came to school functions. However, despite all this, there was always more, and volunteer hours would put Cara right where she needed to be. So earlier in the week, she emailed Mrs. English about what to do and a meeting at 7:30 a.m. was put into place.

"So what are you in for?" Cara jumped slightly and turned her head towards the voice coming from her right, and a pair of blue eyes belonging to the infamous Jon Good met hers. He smiled and chew his gum loudly. "Smoking? Skipping? Bad grades? Hand job in the bathroom," he pestered. Cara had heard of Jon, but their entire academic career hadn't touched. No classes, no interactions. She'd only seen him occasionally and heard head-spinning rumors. At this moment, she'd been very grateful for that. She could already feel her sanity slipping away. At her silence, Jon pestered further, "You aren't pregnant are you?" At the same time, a student office assistant looked at the both of them with a disturbed expression.

Cara rolled her eyes, "No, I actually requested this. You see, I'm trying to get into a good college so that I can have a fruitful life."

Jon grimaced at her words, "Oh, so you're one of those."

She looked at him inquisitively, "Whatever do you mean?" Her voice was playful, but there were equal parts of anger and challenge hidden inside it. She knew she was about to get called a "teacher's pet" or something similar, but that didn't mean she had to take it.

Jon threw up both of his hands as if he had said nothing to warrant her sudden abrasiveness. "All I wanna know is, if you stick coal up your ass, how long do you think it'll take before a diamond comes out?"

"You're disgusting," was all Cara managed to say. She definitely had not prepared for such an obscene comment, and had nothing to counter it. Fortunately for Cara, Mrs. English had opened up the door to her office only moments after his comment. Her auburn but graying hair with eyes hidden behind rimless glasses had served as Cara's savior from dealing with the buffoon that was only a chair away in that moment. Cara stood up, quickly throwing her bag over her shoulder.

"Great, you're both on time," her counselor said cheerily. "Come in, both of you."

Cara stopped in her tracks. _Both of you._ Cara repeated the phrase in her mind a couple of times. Jon walk past her, grinning like he'd gotten away with something. "You comin'," he asked her as he crossed into the office. Cara reluctantly followed him, and sank into the chair next to Jon and across from Mrs. English who was separated by what was sure to be an overpriced desk from Ikea.

"I know you're wondering why the both of you are coming in at the same time," Mrs. English began, giving Cara a look that said _especially you_. Mrs. English began pulling things up on her computer, and scanned the information in front of her before returning to the Cara and Jon. "Cara, after I read your email," she started to say until she was interrupted. Jon looked at Cara, "You send her emails, really?"

"Shut up," Cara retorted.

Mrs. English cleared her throat to get their attention back and preventing the bickering from going further. "I was searching solutions for your problem, Cara, I found a solution in Jon."

 _Please, God no._ Cara looked at Jon who just looked around the room. For a split second, he caught her looking at him, but she looked away before he could find something to do or say to her. _How could he be the solution to her problem?_ She returned her focus to Mrs. English to listen to whatever seemingly insane plan she'd come up with.

"Jon," Mrs. English said causing Jon to respond with a disinterested 'yeah'. "You're struggling in a lot of your classes, but you can still graduate in the Spring if you work hard enough. Cara here is currently top of the class. Therefore Cara, the easiest way to get your volunteer hours up quickly is by tutoring Jon. For only an hour a day, Monday through Friday."

 _You've got to be kidding me_ , Cara thought. Her displeasure must have been obvious enough to make the counselor continue talking. "It'll only be an hour a day during your study hall period, and once Jon's grades are up, you're free to quit or continue as both of you see fit."

"I don't need it," Jon protested. Cara looked over at him. His hair was shaggy and in the way, but she could still make out his unamused expression. Mrs. English went to say something in protest, but Jon cut her off before she even got started. "But I know you're going to make do it anyway, so sure bring it on." He turned his gaze over to Cara, "How you doing, teach?"

She gave him her best go to hell look, but he only grinned in response which pissed her off more. Her brain kept saying to strangle him, but she stopped herself. _Think about college_ , her internal monologue mused. She turned back to her counselor and delivered her fakest smile and her cheeriest voice, "Sure, thing. It'll be no problem." A lie, but there was no need to be ungrateful. She looked back at Jon and smiled at him too, "Library, 1:30."

"Yeah," he said passively, crossing his arms.

Mrs. English let out a relieved sigh, "Well, this is great. Thank you both for being so cooperative."

Jon and Cara both said it was no problem. Cara said thank you, although she didn't particularly mean it, and Jon simply walked out without any acknowledgment. Cara knew the following weeks to come weren't going to be particularly enjoyable, but she knew there was no backing out now. She just hoped that Jon would be compliant and not so obnoxiously brash.

* * *

At lunch, Cara's best friend placed a plastic tray down on the table across from her, "Caroline Elizabeth Hemingway, why is the rumor that you're pregnant going around?" Lyndsey was a gossip fanatic. It was all harmless, but she had a desperate need to know everything about everything. If you needed to know anything about someone at Amelia High School, Lyndsey could be considered the Library of Alexandria. Rumors, birthdays, old flames, new flames, Canadian flames, pregnancy scares - _anything_.

"Please don't tell me you believe that,"Cara whined. She watched her friend sit down, Lyndsey's rusty-brown eyes seemed as if they trying to pry the information out Cara's brain.

Lyndsey laughed, "Of course not, you're like the biggest virgin I know besides Mary, especially if you're pregnant. Oooh, maybe you're carrying the messiah." To that, Cara laughed a little, but Lyndsey got the conversation back quickly. "But no, seriously, what's going on?"

Cara sighed as she placed her forehead into her propped up hand. "Do you want my answer or the real one? Both are true."

"I'll take both," replied her friend. Cara lifted her head up to find her friend looking at her with hungry eyes.

"I firmly believe that God hates me and has assigned his own personal devil to torture me in the form of Jon Good, who I have to tutor every day now." Cara paused as she recalled their meeting this morning. "Jon asked me if I was at the counselor's office because I was pregnant, and the office aid who heard must of said something. Now everyone thinks I'm having a baby."

Her prying friend looked at her in disbelief, "Jon Good? You have to tutor him? This is amazing."

"We have very different ideas of amazing," Cara answered.

"Bad things can be amazing," Lyndsey noted. "They're full of amazement. This doesn't disappoint. Seriously, I've heard so many things about him - so I'm going to give you what I know."

"Lyndsey, no. I don't like when you do that. I don't want to know everything about someone before I actually know them."

Lyndsey looked at her suspiciously, "you sure? It could be very helpful to know your enemy."

Cara nodded.

The rest of their lunch went as usual. They complained about how crappy the food was, shared the woes from their classes, and made plans for the weekend. Every now and then, Lyndsey would make a joke about Jon to which she would either scowl or laugh at, and eventually lunch ended. As they went their separate ways, Lyndsey yelled out a good luck to which Cara replied, "I'm going to need it!"

 _So let the games begin,_ she thought as she opened the door the the library.

* * *

Cara continuously checked the outdated clock hanging high on the library wall. Jon was already running 8 minutes late. _Two more minutes and if he doesn't show up, I'm leaving. I'll figure out something else_ , she thought. She watched the red seconds hand make it's way around the clock the first time, and then every second afterward only made her more upset with him and the entire situation. When the clock struck 1:40, Cara gripped the strap of her backpack and slung it over her shoulder.

"You're not going to bail on me are you?" Her head shot up at the sound of Jon's voice who was approaching her with a smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes as she sat her own stuff back down. "You're late."

"Just so we're clear, I'm only doing this because they're making me," he said as he slid down in the chair across from her. She stared him right in the eyes and flashed a pseudo-polite smile. "I can assure that the feeling is mutual, and that I would rather be doing anything else."

"Don't get your pom-poms in bunch," he teased.

"Not a cheerleader," she stated. She was hating this more and more by the second.

"It's a metaphorical set, " he explained as he watched her pull books out of her bag.

"Just like yours then," she countered as she was trying find a place to start teaching this clown.

He made an "oh" shape with his mouth, "Barbie's got bite. Man, you're second husband is gonna love that. Just you wait," he pressed further, successfully getting a rise out her.

Cara slammed the book in front of her closed and gave him gave him a go to hell look. "Look, you can act like a sack of shit all you want." Jon attempted to cut her off after she swore, but she held her finger up at him. "But if you think that I'm gonna make myself look bad because I can't teach some asshole what he needs to know to pass, you're sorely mistaken."

Jon began first by clearing his throat. "That's fine sweetheart," he said as he sat up straight in his chair. He reached over to her finger and held on to it. "But let's make one thing clear, you are never going to put this finger in my face again." He moved her finger to the side and gave her bearish grin.

She didn't back down, "As long as we can agree that you won't touch me ever again."

"Deal," he conceded. "Now, while all this bonding time has been really fun. I have to go." He picked up his bag, that Cara was certain had nothing in it, and started to walk off.

"You're kidding, right? You literally just got here." Cara was in disbelief. The nerve he had to make her wait only to leave in no less than fifteen minutes. She didn't know if she wanted to cry out of frustration or fight him.

"I gotta go. Got stuff to do, super important. You understand, right?"

"Jon, we have to do this," she tried to tell him as he started walking out the door. He was really leaving. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said as the door closed behind him.

 _Great,_ she thought as she ran her fingers out of her hair. Not only was he a pain in the ass, he couldn't even stick to a simple schedule. She slid back down into her chair, and covered her face with her hands. _Just great._


	2. Lady's Choice, Gentlemen's Agreement

**Amelia High School  
Cincinnati, OH.**

 **88 Days Until Graduation**

It didn't take long for word to get around about Cara and Jon's situation. Over the course of a week, Cara had been asked a million questions about Jon, who was a gossip enigma. She'd also heard more things that he'd allegedly done than she cared to, but when asked if any of it was true, she simply shook her head and said, "I don't know. I'm just tutoring him." Silently, she would add "if that" because the truth was Jon was difficult. He exclusively showed up late, and when he did show up, getting him to pay attention seemed impossible. He spent the whole time either in his head or finding some new way to annoy her. Plus he never stayed the whole time, he'd always vanish saying that he had to go train, whatever that meant.

When Friday came around, Cara sat in the library alone, watching the clock.

1:30  
1:45  
1:50

Jon hadn't show up at all. As Cara packed her things away, ready to be defeated once and for all, she decided she had enough. She was going to find him, and give him a piece of her mind. If she couldn't convince him to just do what she asked, she'd at least at least tell him just how she felt about him. The only problem would be finding him. If he was on campus, which she hoped he was, he could only be a handful of places. Her first instinct was the gym. He'd always mentioned training, so she figured this was the best starting point. However, when she arrived, he was nowhere to be found. She checked every hall, the cafeteria, the auditorium, and the shop outside. He was nowhere. "You win, Jon. I give up," she wanted to shout to the world. This was the one impossible task she was assigned. She had gotten through every obstacle in her life with as much grace as possible, but this was too much for her. I'll go to Mrs. English in the morning, and tell her that I just can't do it, she thought as she made her way back inside the school.

"That'll be twenty, dude."

Cara stopped. She knew that voice. Looking around, she tried to catch where it had come from. She found Jon between the outside of the cafeteria and another building connected to the school. She watched him reach into the hoodie pocket and pull out a bag of only a few pills, although she had no idea what they were, and exchange it with money from a guy standing across from him. After the transaction was complete, the guy with the pills walked away, spotting Cara but making nothing of her presence. Shortly after Jon counted the money, he attempted walk away, but Cara stopped right in front him and backed him up into the space he came from.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said after she deciphered what had been going on.

"You don't know what -," Jon tried to say. However, Cara was quick to cut him off. "No, I'm sick of you doing this. I am trying to do something with my life, and I try my best to deal with your shit. Yet, you walk around acting all big and bad, like the rules don't apply to you. You're such an asshole," she fumed.

Jon smirked, "And what do you think you're going to do about it, sweetheart? Tell on me?"

Cara paused for a moment and considered her options. "Actually, yes. If they think for a second you're dealing on campus, everyone will be watching you. So if you don't come to our meetings and treat me with respect, I'll tell everyone and don't think they won't believe me." Checkmate. Jon looked furious. She beat him, and a rush of power rushed through her momentarily.

"Fine, I'll go to your dumb tutoring shit, but stay out of my business. You got that?"

She smiled and stepped out of his way, "Monday, on time or I go to Mrs. English."

* * *

 **Washington Residence  
Wyoming, OH**

Every second Saturday of the month meant one thing to Lyndsey and Cara - sleepover. As kids, it was a weekly thing (schedule permitting), but as they had developed schedules of their own, it evolved to biweekly usually consisting of three things: talking, sleeping, and eating. It was the trifecta as far as Cara was concerned however sometimes, like this Saturday, they actually accomplished things. With her new found upper hand, she needed to make battle plans. She'd gathered all the information she needed to help Jon's grades, but now she just had to put it together, and she needed Lyndsey's help.

"For someone you sure as hell don't like, you sure are putting a lot of work into this," Lyndsey commented as they looked down at the spread of papers now sitting on Lyndsey's floor.

"This also benefits me, ya know? Not really doing it for my health." Cara also felt bad about what he was currently holding over Jon's head, but she didn't mention that yet. That was a conversation for 2 a.m. not the middle of the afternoon.

Later in the night, Cara finally decided to bring the issue up. However, she needed to start with a disclaimer, "Lyndsey, when I tell you this, you have to swear on your life that you will not say anything to anyone."

"I caught Jon dealing drugs," she said quietly. Lyndsey gasped in response. "Don't say a word to anyone," Cara reminded her.

Lyndsey nodded repeatedly, "I won't. I mean I'm not really surprised after all I've heard, but still I'd like to things those things aren't true. So what'd you do when you caught him?"

"I - I may have used it as blackmail to get him to come to study hall," she said. "Looking back on it, I feel really bad about the whole situation, but it was really a power rush in the moment. Like, there's gotta be reason for it right? What if he's like in trouble or something. I just snapped at him," she admitted. She buried her face in her pillow and groaned. "Why do I feel like a terrible person?"

Her friend shrugged, "Because you are a terrible person." Cara shot up from the pillow and looked at her friend with offense. "I'm kidding. Maybe you should just talk to him about it."

She took her face out of the pillow, "On a good day, that's usually as effective as repeatedly slamming my head on brick wall. I don't think it will be much easier now."

Lyndsey started applying an avocado based face mask on her skin. "Speaking of Jon, don't you think he's kind of cute? Maybe rough around the edges but definitely something charming about him."

"I've never really looked at him like that. Besides, if you think he's so cute,you go date him," Cara replied. "His eyes are a nice shade of blue, but that only makes up for shitty personality so much."

"So you've at least looked at him a little bit. I mean, he's got strong arms," her friend went on, throwing a small wink Cara's way, her typically dark skin now painted a pale green by the face mask."Also, I could never date Jon because he slept with a girl on the team, and although we do handle the same balls on a daily basis, I don't want to take it much further than tennis balls."

"God, you're so gross. He's literally so rude and yet here we are having this talk," Cara whined.

"But if he wasn't rude, you'd be interested?" Lyndsey raised an eyebrow at her, but Cara wasn't going to let her win this game.

"You're not going to put words in my mouth," she countered. "He's just Jon, who I tutor. He isn't hideous, but I'm not interested. I want an actual gentleman, not someone who talked about having coal up my ass the day I met them."

"That's amazing," Lyndsey said with a laugh.

Cara rolled her eyes jokingly, "We still have different ideas of amazing."

* * *

On Monday, Cara left lunch early to prepare for whatever was to come from her study hall with Jon. She carefully pulled out the somewhat comprehensive study plan that she had spent most of her Sunday designing with Lyndsey's help. There were packets of notes, worksheets, and all the information she had previously gathered from Jon's teachers, fortunately they had shared many of the same teachers so that wasn't difficult. After she set up, she sat and waited for Jon to arrive, keeping a watchful eye on the clock. _If he doesn't show up, he's either crazy or stupid._

When the last bell rang, Jon burst in the door. Cara sighed a breath of relief, "You're here."

Jon gave her a curious look, "Did I have a choice?" He tossed his things on the floor, near the chair he sat down in. "So, I'm here. What now, warden?" His voice wasn't full of his usual taunting manner. Cara decided not to say anything snotty in return. "Well, I teach you now, and we're way behind already." Nervously, Cara showed him the study plan that she had created in reflection to where he was struggling. He stood there quietly, nodding, and not making any obscene remarks. It was definitely strange, but Cara hoped that she might be able to get something done for once. "So where would you like to start?"

Jon shrugged, "It really doesn't matter to me." Cara side-eyed him. Despite his cooperation, she really wanted to tell him to stop acting so weird.

She exhaled, trying to remain focus and calm. Looking down at the papers before her, she tried to decide where to begin. "Okay, well, then we might want to get the most boring stuff out of the way first," she began. "I don't know about you, but I hate math so let's end this now." She picked up her math book and started flipping through the pages.

"I like math," he said unemotionally. "I don't want to do that one yet. Start with history. I hate history."

She looked at him curiously, "I thought you said it didn't matter? And also, how do you hate history it is by far the best subject."

"Because it's in the past, it doesn't matter," he answered with another shrug. Cara's eyes widened in disbelief. "Doesn't matter? History is everything that led us here."

A small grin formed on Jon lips, "Then why don't you teach me why it's so amazing, isn't that your job?"

Cara smiled, "Fair enough. Alright so if you're in American History, you're probably talking about the Civil War and Reconstruction, which is one of the peaks of U.S. History because it established the foundation for modern day America. Seriously, this is the birth of industrialism, the 14th Amendment - arguably the most important of them all, and also we establish that Andrew Johnson sucks." Cara happily talked about the subject, and Jon listened and occasionally and much to her surprise asked questions. Despite the awkwardness, she had actually enjoyed the whole thing.

For the first time, they stayed until the bell rang. When it was over, Jon wasted no time trying to get out of there, but Cara called after him before got away. "Jon, can I talk to you for second?" She quickened her pace to catch up to him, but he didn't even spare her a glance. "Jon, please," she asked quietly. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. His blue eyes met her own, and Cara causing him to stop right in front of the glass door, but he didn't say anything; he just looked at her and waited. "I'm not gonna tell anyone about what happened," she confessed to him. She stood there awkwardly as Jon stared at her skeptically. She tried to keep eye contact with him, but she couldn't hold it up. Her eyes shifted from his eyes, momentarily looking at his shirt which was solid black, down to the floor, and back up to his face.

"Thanks," he finally said pushing the door open. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"You're coming back," she said continuing to follow him. "You did hear the part where I said I wasn't going to snitch, right?"

"I heard you, but I wanna hear more about that Andrew Johnson dude," he told her but still not paying her physical being much attention. "Catch ya later." Cara stopped following him and smiled to herself. Over the course of her academic career, she'd received many academic accomplishments, but this was something new she was secretly proud of.


End file.
